Declassification of government documents relating to the
1972 Munich massacre
Finally, after 4 long decades, dozens of classified documents that were stored in the Israel State Archives were released in time to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the massacre of Israeli athletes. One example of the recently released documents is this urgent cable sent on September 5, 1972 to the Israeli ambassador in West Germany which reads,
“The Israeli government does not negotiate with terrorists. The government expects the German authorities to do everything in their power to rescue the hostages.”
The declassified documents contain transcripts of Israeli cabinet meetings, telegrams and other official reports. Also included are files detailing the relationship between Germany and Israel immediately after the Munich massacre as well as discussions between Israel, Germany, and the United States concerning the suspension of the Olympic games. The documents reveal the brutally honest assessment by the head of Massad, Israel’s intelligence agency, Zvi Zamir, regarding the ineffective attempt by the Germans to rescue the hostages and what he referred to as minimal effort during the entire crisis.
Another file stated that the reason for the decision by the Olympic Committee and the West German authorities not to stop the Olympic games immediately following the tragedy was because a suspension could disrupt police operations — and because “German television has no alternative programming.”
The documents show the gradual transition from Israel being patient with the West German government of chancellor Willy Brandt at the beginning of the saga, to mounting tension and a serious strain in relations between the two countries immediately after Germany’s decision to release the three surviving Black September terrorists after the hijacking of a Lufthansa airliner in October.
The documents are divided into nine sections:
“The Israeli government does not negotiate with terrorists. The government expects the German authorities to do everything in their power to rescue the hostages.”
The declassified documents contain transcripts of Israeli cabinet meetings, telegrams and other official reports. Also included are files detailing the relationship between Germany and Israel immediately after the Munich massacre as well as discussions between Israel, Germany, and the United States concerning the suspension of the Olympic games. The documents reveal the brutally honest assessment by the head of Massad, Israel’s intelligence agency, Zvi Zamir, regarding the ineffective attempt by the Germans to rescue the hostages and what he referred to as minimal effort during the entire crisis.
Another file stated that the reason for the decision by the Olympic Committee and the West German authorities not to stop the Olympic games immediately following the tragedy was because a suspension could disrupt police operations — and because “German television has no alternative programming.”
The documents show the gradual transition from Israel being patient with the West German government of chancellor Willy Brandt at the beginning of the saga, to mounting tension and a serious strain in relations between the two countries immediately after Germany’s decision to release the three surviving Black September terrorists after the hijacking of a Lufthansa airliner in October.
The documents are divided into nine sections:
- Initial reports about the kidnappings until the failure of the German rescue operation
- Correspondence regarding the issue of whether the Olympic games would be stopped or suspended
- Documents dealing with how the incident would affect Israeli-German ties
- The German police’s report on the operation and Zamir’s harsh criticism of it
- German disapproval of Zamir’s criticism
- The establishment of an Israeli commission – the Koppel Committee – to examine the security arrangements that existed for the Israeli athletes
- The Meir government’s response to the Koppel Committee
- Conclusions drawn in the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee regarding active and passive ways to fight terrorists abroad
- Israel’s response to the German government’s decision to release the surviving gunmen after the Lufthansa airplane hijacking